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GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis AG and Bill Gates pushing against malaria

GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Novartis AG will donate a research fund of up to US$4 billion in a global effort to fight malaria as a drug-resistant strain has not progressed for years. Commitment is part of a broad initiative led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with US$1 billion,

Glaxo invested an additional US$250 million, while Novartis will allocate more than US$100 million, the company said before Wednesday's meeting in London. Urgency increases when the case of malaria grows significantly in 2016 for the first time in a decade. The emergence of resistance to drugs and insecticides makes efforts to eradicate the disease more difficult.

Certain variants of the lethal parasite Plasmodium falciparum are able to avoid artemisinin as the most potent drug available today. This resistant strain has been detected in five Asian countries and takes risks in Africa. Philanthropic billionaire Bill Gates has said it would be a "disaster" if the mutant form of the parasite moves from outside Southeast Asia to Africa.

Some parties are encouraging to develop alternatives to artemisinin and begin testing new anti-malarial pills in Africa last year. Pilot projects for the first vaccine developed by Glaxo and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative will begin in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi later this year.

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